The No. 9 Nebraska men’s gymnastics team returns to Nebraska this weekend for their home opener against No. 11 Air Force. The non-conference meet will take place in the Bob Devaney Sports Center at 1 p.m. CST. Fans who can’t make it to the meet will be able to view free live stats on Huskers.com. They can also follow the team on Twitter (@NebraskaMGym) or on Facebook (facebook.com/NebraskaMGym) for live updates from the meet.

No. 11 Air Force started the season with a third-place finish at the Rocky Mountain Open on Jan. 11. The Falcons relied heavily on freshman Tim Yang, the team's first all-around competitor since 2011, and junior Gared Chapman to lead them through the five-team meet. Air Force then traveled to Norman, Okla., to face the top-ranked Sooners. They finished second to Oklahoma, finishing the meet with a combined score of 412.200.

Looking Ahead

Nebraska will travel to Minneapolis to face conference rivals No. 7 Minnesota and No. 8 Illinois. The Golden Gophers will host the Huskers and Illini at the Sports Pavillion on Feb. 1. The meet will kick off at 7 p.m. CST. Minnesota are 2-3 this season and will host Oklahoma and UIC this weekend at the Sports Pavillion.

Last Time Out: Huskers Start Season Strong

Nebraska battled with No. 11 Air Force throughout the Rocky Mountain Open, finishing the meet with a score of 423.700. No. 2 Oklahoma took home the meet win with a team score of 443.150 at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., on Jan. 11.

Sophomore Ethan Lottmanhad a strong season opener for the second consecutive year, earning the best score on floor exercise for the Huskers (14.45) and the second best on pommel horse (14.65).

NU saw its best team score on still rings since joining the Big Ten in 2012, tallying up an event total of 74.050. Senior Donovan Arndt received the team's second-highest score on the event (15.10) behind junior Robbie Kocks (15.40).

The Huskers fell behind on floor exercise and high bar. On high bar, Nebraska saw difficulties in the middle of routines, leaving them with a team score of 67.750 on the event. The Big Red then moved to floor exercise, where they saw their lowest event total of the night (66.750). A former All-American on floor, Grant Perdue struggled to impress the judges, earning a 14.35 on the event.

Nebraska Kicks Off the Season in Ninth

NU jumped to No. 9 nationally after the second week of the season. Nebraska jumped ahead of Iowa, who had entered the season ranked No. 8, after completing their first meets of the season. Nebraska is now ranked sixth in the Big Ten. Oklahoma moved into the top spot with an average team score of 441.925 after two meets. Michigan claimed second after their victory at the Windy City Invitational, finishing their first week with a score of 437.500. Ohio State joined the rankings at No. 3 after coming in second at Windy City Invitational, posting a team score of 436.050.

Nebraska finished fourth on still rings, triumphing over Ohio State (No. 5), Illinois (No. 7), Iowa (No. 9) and Minnesota (No. 11). The Huskers finished fifth on pommel horse and parallel bars and tenth on vault and high bar. Struggles on the event pushed NU to No. 15 on floor exercise, less than a point behind the four teams ahead of them.

Individually, Nebraska saw six athletes in the national rankings this week. Junior Robbie Kocks grabbed the No. 6 position on rings after finishing with a 15.40 in Colorado Springs, Colo. Donovan Arndt also finished the week in the rings rankings, placing eleventh with a score of 15.10.

Eric Schryver earned a spot on two different event rankings this week for his performances on pommel horse and parallel bars. His score of 14.85 on horse placed him at No. 7 on the event, while he ranked sixteenth on parallel bars after earning a score of 14.70 at the Rocky Mountain Open. Sophomore Ethan Lottman also grabbed a spot in the pommel horse rankings, finishing ninth with his score of 14.65.

Junior Louis Klein debuted on the 2014 high bar rankings at ninth with his score of 14.80. Senior C.J. Schaaf barely made the all-around list, coming in seventeenth with his 82.100 point finish.